Hanger for suspending an ornament from a tree branch

ABSTRACT

An ornament is suspended from a tree branch by a hanger formed by a pair of elongated jaws with serrated clamping faces pivotal into a confronting relation for engaging a tree branch. A pivot surrounded by a spring maintains a resilient contact force between the end portions of the jaws. An elongated hook projects from the pivot opposite to the pair of elongated jaws with a terminal end portion at a juxtaposition with a shank portion to form an entrance to a reversely extending loop for retaining a mounting fixture of an ornament.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] Field of the invention: The present invention relates to a hanger construction designed for suspending an ornament or decorative object or the like from a tree branch, and more particularly, to such a hanger having jaws urged into a load bearing interlocking engagement with the wood or twisted wire substitute of a Christmas tree branch.

[0002] Description of the prior art: The well known ornament hanger made of bent wire for suspending a tree ornament from a branch of a Christmas tree has a weight sustaining capacity limited by the bent configuration and the flexibility of the wire. The hanger is provided with a hook shaped end partly wrap about the tree branch and reversely bent loop to receive the wire bail of the ornament. Conventional glass ornaments are of such in insignificant weight that the bent wire hanger will not normally elastically deform when used to suspend the glass ornament from a Christmas tree branch. When the hooked shaped end of the hanger is separated from the wood or twisted wire of a Christmas tree branch, the ornament is highly suitable to unwanted release and consequence breakage. Prized and valuable decorative ornament is placed at risk of damage or destruction unless great care is exercised to securely attache the hooked end about the tree branch. Sometimes it is necessary to relocate the attachment to assure a freely suspended relation of the ornament from the tree branch without interference with underlying branches. The ornament hanger made of thin wire has the advantage of a minimal viability, which enhances the appearance value of the ornament. U.S. Pat. No. 6,155,526 discloses a hanging device made from bent wire notably with a coiled portion with increasing radii spiraling around an end such that as more weight is applied, the spiral unwinds and tightens around the support member that the device hangs on. U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,466 discloses an ornament hook with an integral circular portion into which a twig or rod is inserted and then a horizontal leg portion is used to move a locking portion from which it extends into a locking position with a depending ornament support leg. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,530,545; 4,966,344; and 5,383,638 disclose jaws biased by resilient force to maintain a griping relation with a tree branch for hanging decorative ornaments. The jaw construction does not utilize a tooth construction to allow secure engagement with long continued integrity with the wood or twisted sire substitute of a tree branch.

[0003] It is an object of the present invention to provide a hanger with at least one toothed clamping jaw resilient urged into load bearing contact with the wood or twisted wire substructure of a tree branch for mounting decorative ornament and the like.

[0004] It is another object of the present invention to provide a decorative ornament hanger having a frontal jaw with or without an adornment weighted to counter balance the weight of an ornament hanging along a plane containing an confronting cooperative jaw for allowing the presentation of an ornament hanging freely in a vertical upright position

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] According to the present invention there is provided a hanger for suspending an ornament from a tree branch, the hanger includes a pair of elongated jaws with one jaw having spaced apart protrusions on a clamp face pivotal into a confronting relation with a clamp surface of the other of the elongated jaws for engaging a tree branch with the spaced protrusions between the jaws, a pivot for pivotally interconnecting end portions of the jaws, a resilient member arranged for applying a resilient force in a direction to urge the pair of elongated jaws toward another under a resilient force sufficient for griping and retaining a tree branch against the spaced protrusions, and an elongated hook projecting from the pivot oppositely to the pair of elongated jaws, the elongated hook having a terminal end portion at a juxtaposition with a shank portion to form an entrance to a reversely extending loop for supporting a mounting fixture of an ornament.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] The present invention will be more fully understood when the following description is read in light of the accompanying drawings in which:

[0007]FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a first embodiment of a hanger according to the present invention for a decorative ornament;

[0008]FIG. 2 is a front elevational view taken along lines II-II of a hanger shown in FIG. 1;

[0009]FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along lines III-III of FIG. 1;

[0010]FIG. 4 is an illustration of the instillation of a ornament on the hanger shown in FIG. 1;

[0011]FIG. 5 is a first modified form of a hanger according to the present invention for a decorative ornament;

[0012]FIG. 6 is a second modified form of a hanger according to the present invention for a decorative ornament; and

[0013]FIG. 7 is a side elevation view of a third modified form of a hanger according to the present invention for a decorative ornament.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 is the preferred embodiment of a hanger 10 of the present invention for suspending ornament 12 from a tree branch 14 which can be comprised of wood laden with pine needles or twisted wire supporting plastic filaments to simulate pine needles of an artificial tree. The hanger includes a pair of elongated jaws 16 and 18 each with a U-shaped cross sectional configuration. At least one jaw, preferably both jaws as shown, have upstanding protrusions 20 at spaced apart locations along upturned edge portions 22 at opposite sides of a faceplate section 24. The upstanding protrusions 20 of the jaws preferably take the form of clamp faces with confronting serrations pivotal into a mutual confronting relation for engaging a tree branch between the jaws. The confronting serrations are spaced at a predetermined minimum distance by contact surfaces 20A at the outer most terminal ends of the pair of the elongated jaws. A pivot shaft 26 extends through apertures in the jaws at the ends. A resilient member 28 is arranged for applying a resilient force in a direction to urge the pair of elongated jaws 16 and 18 toward one another under a resilient force sufficient for griping and retaining the tree branch 14 against the serrated clamp faces of the hanger. The preferred form of a resilient member is a spring and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 the spring is essentially made up of a coiled mid portion mounted 30 on the pivot shaft 26 and terminal end portions 32 and 34 arranged to engaged and apply the resilient force developed by the spring to urge the pair of elongated jaws 16 and 18 into mutual engagement.

[0015] An elongated hook 36 projects from the pivot shaft 26 in a direction opposite to the pair of elongated jaws. Preferably, the elongated hook is an integral extension of jaw 18. As shown in FIG. 4 the hook 36 has a terminal end portion 38 at juxtaposition with a shank portion 40 and forms an entrance site 42 to a reverse extending loop section 44 for retaining a mounting fixture 12A of the ornament 12. FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention which features an entrance site 42A that is narrow and forms a restricted passageway for the mounting fixture 12A by the closely spaced apart relation between the terminal end portion of 38A and the shank portion 40A. An actuator arm 46 extends from the elongated jaw 16 towards the elongated hook 36 for receiving a force applied as a pitching force against jaw 18 to pivot jaw 16 in a direction away from jaw 18 for engagement or disengagement of the hanger with a tree branch. The contact surface 20A of the elongated hook and pivot shaft 26 lie in a generally vertical plane 48 and extends between the serrated clamp faces. Shown in FIG. 6 is the hanger 10 with the addition of a latch bar 50 with bent end portions 52 pivotally supported by the shank portion 40 to releasably surround and engage with the terminal end portion 38 for forming a barrier to impede unwanted removal of a ornament from the hanger by traversing the entrance site 42 to the reversely extending loop 44.

[0016]FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention which differs from the embodiment of FIG. 1 by the arrangement of the terminal end portion 38B of the elongated hook 36 located in the position 180 degrees about the shank portion 40B whereby the reversely extending the loop section 44B lies in a plane 56 extending along an outer lateral side of the pair of elongated jaw 18A. In each of the embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 7 at least one of the pair of elongated jaws 16 and 18 include the faceplate sections 24 extending along the extended length of the jaw. The section 24 of jaw 24 not only forms an adornment face but also is defined by a sufficient mass lying in a plane 60 laterally offset from a vertical plane 48 and 56 containing the reversely extending loop to counterbalance the weight of the ornament suspended by the reversely extending loop and thereby maintain the ornament in an upright position.

[0017] While the present invention has been described in connection with the preferred embodiments of the various figures, it is to be understood that other similar embodiments may be used or modifications and additions may be made to the described embodiment for performing the same function of the present invention without deviating there from. Therefore, the present invention should not be limited to any single embodiment, but rather construed in breadth and scope in accordance with the recitation of the appended claims. 

1. A hanger for suspending ornament from a tree branch, said hanger including the combination of: a pair of elongated jaws with one of said jaws having serrated clamp face pivotal into a confronting relation with a clamp surface of the other of said elongated jaws for engaging a tree branch between said jaws; a pivot for pivotally interconnecting end portions of said jaws; a resilient member arranged for applying a resilient force in a direction to urge said pair of elongated jaws toward one another under a resilient force sufficient for griping and retaining a tree branch against said serrated clamp face; and an elongated hook projecting from said pivot oppositely to said pair of elongated jaws, said elongated hook having a terminal end portion at a juxtaposition with a shank portion to form an entrance to a reversely extending loop for retaining a mounting fixture of an ornament.
 2. The hanger according to claim 1 wherein said resilient member includes a spring having a coiled mid portion mounted on said pivot and terminal end portions arranged to apply a resilient force urging said pair of elongated jaws into mutual engagement.
 3. The hanger according to claim 1 wherein said pair of said elongated jaws each include confronting serrations for gripping a tree branch there between.
 4. The hanger according to claim 3 wherein said confronting serrations are spaced at a predetermined minimum distance by contact surfaces on said pair of said elongated jaws.
 5. The hanger according to claim 4 wherein said contact surfaces are disposed at the distal ends of said elongated jaws remote to said pivot.
 6. The hanger according to claim 1 further including an actuator arm extending from one of said pair of said elongated jaws towards said elongated hook.
 7. The hanger according to claim 6 wherein said terminal end portion of said elongated hook lies in a plane containing said pivot and extending between said serrated clamp face and said clamp surface.
 8. The hanger according to claim 6 wherein said terminal end portion of said elongated hook lies in a plane extending along an outer lateral side of one of said pair of elongated jaws.
 9. The hanger according to claim 6 further including a latch pivotally supported by said shank portion to releasably engage with said terminal end portion for forming a barrier member traversing the entrance to said reversely extending loop.
 10. The hanger according to claim 1 wherein at least one of said pair of elongated jaws includes an adornment face extending along the extended length thereof.
 11. The hanger according to claim 10 wherein said adornment face is defined by a sufficient mass lying in a plane laterally offset from a vertical plane containing said reversely extending loop to counterbalance the weight of said adornment suspended by said reversely extending loop in an upright position. 